The Fourth Meeting of the Global Forum on Sustainable Energy (GFSE-4) was
held from 18-20 February 2004, in Vienna, Austria. The meeting considered
the theme of "Energy for sustainable development: reconsidering the role
of incentive measures." In particular, GFSE-4 focused on renewable energy
issues, providing input to the International Conference for Renewable
Energies scheduled to take place in Bonn, Germany, in June 2004. The Forum
also brought together various energy-related partnerships announced at the
World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg in 2002, in
order to discuss their progress. GFSE-4 was convened by Irene
Freudenschuss-Reichl, Special Representative and Assistant
Director-General for UN Affairs at the UN Industrial Development
Organization (UNIDO). It was co-sponsored by the Austrian government, City
of Vienna, Federation of Austrian Industry, UN Development Programme (UNDP)
and UNIDO. An estimated 210 participants representing government agencies,
UN bodies, business and industry, non-governmental organizations and
academia attended the Forum.

Delegates met in Plenary sessions to
hear presentations and engage in discussions on a variety of relevant
topics, including: energy and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs);
public sector perspectives on incentive measures in developed and
developing counties; private sector perspectives on incentive measures;
and initiatives that promote energy for sustainable development.
Participants also convened in two Working Groups to discuss supply and
demand side measures to promote energy for sustainable development. On the
final day of GFSE-4, delegates reconvened in Plenary to hear reports from
the Working Groups, before concluding with a panel discussion on the next
steps required to advance energy for sustainable development.

The meeting also included
consultations held in parallel with the official Plenary sessions that
related to two partnerships on sustainable energy. The first consultation
considered the feasibility of a "Patient Capital Investment Vehicle" in
the context of the Johannesburg Renewable Energy Coalition (JREC); the
second was a preliminary meeting of the project consortium "Partners for
Africa." In addition, participants attending GFSE-4 were invited on a
field trip to Vienna Freudenau, the Danube Hydropower Plant.

GFSE-4 is expected to contribute to
ongoing work on the use of incentive measures for sustainable energy, and
on renewable energy. In particular, it will feed into the renewable
energies conference taking place in June 2004, and various other
multi-stakeholder forums.